Farc Rebels Suspected In Bombing That Kills 12

U.S. & Latin America

BOGOTA, Colombia -- Two bombs ripped through a strip of nightclubs and restaurants in a provincial Colombian capital early Sunday, killing at least 12 people and fueling fears of stepped-up terror attacks in urban centers.

Police said the first bomb exploded at 1:08 a.m. Sunday in a parking lot in the most popular entertainment district of Villavicencio, 45 miles southeast of the capital city of Bogota. Minutes later and just yards away, a car packed with 150 pounds of dynamite blew up, dismembering many of the victims. Authorities said more than 70 people were hospitalized, and several were in critical condition.

None of Colombia's armed groups claimed responsibility for the attack, but military and police chiefs quickly singled out the Marxist-inspired Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, as the likely culprits. The 17,000-strong guerrilla group has carried out a sabotage campaign since February in retaliation for President Andres Pastrana's decision to end peace talks and send government troops into a southern rebel haven.

"The way this attack was carried out points toward them," said Chief Prosecutor Luis Camilo Osorio, referring to the 38-year-old insurgency.

Video images from the scene showed twisted car frames in a street carpeted by glass shards and rubble. Several building facades collapsed, and crumpled barroom furniture littered the sidewalks.

Police said the first blast was meant to draw anguished spectators closer to the scene so that the second bomb would claim more victims.

Pastrana traveled with top military advisers to Villavicencio on Sunday to devise security measures aimed at thwarting further terror attacks. Speaking to reporters later, the president offered a $45,000 reward for information leading to the capture of the bombers.

"We're going to pursue these terrorists wherever they are. They're not going to find a hiding place anywhere in the world," Pastrana said, adding that nine teenagers were among the dead.